


Not reached by the frost

by stepantrofimovic



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Loki Has Issues, M/M, Magic, POV Loki, You Have Been Warned, said issues sometimes translate to killing people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-04 05:17:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5321867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stepantrofimovic/pseuds/stepantrofimovic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Loki enters Clint Barton's head, he finds many things that spark his interest. Among these are the roots of a soulbond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not reached by the frost

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is my first foray into two things that endlessly disturb and fascinate me -- the soulmate trope and Loki. I only hope I did justice to both.

_All that is gold does not glitter,_  
_Not all those who wander are lost;_  
_The old that is strong does not wither,_  
_Deep roots are not reached by the frost._

[J.R.R. Tolkien]

When Loki enters Clint Barton's head, he finds many things that spark his interest. He finds memories of a childhood that are enough to make him shudder, and that's no feat to be overlooked. He finds Natasha Romanoff, a quiet presence near the very core of Barton's self, providing both a vulnerable spot and a powerful enemy. (He sifts through the memories that feature Natasha, and builds a weapon out of them. He knows he'll get an occasion to use it later. He can't wait.) He also finds the roots of a soulbond.

For a race whose magical abilities are next-to-none, humans are especially attuned to soulbonds. Of course, they have no idea what they are or what to do with them, but they show a remarkable subconscious awareness of their existence. Soulbonds are also unusually frequent in the human race – out of the about thirty people Loki has placed under his control, there are three who show signs of being bonded.

One senior agent is bonded to his wife. Their connection is strong, a solid pillar of mutual tenderness and love, the rare shards of conflict and hurt made dull and innocuous by shared memories and children and long-standing companionship. As far as soulbonds go, this is a beautiful specimen of a classic typology.

Not that all soulbonds are sexual or romantic in nature, of course – case in point, the younger agent who is bonded to her adoptive sister. This bond feels completely different than the previous one – it's more like a net, tightly woven and shining with strands of hard-earned trust, nights spent in the same bedroom talking until late at night, high-school crushes on the same person and mutual realizations that no one will ever be more important than they are to each other. It's a complex bond, unusual, a work of art, lovingly tended to and nurtured for decades.

Loki manages to go a whole three days before he sends that agent on a suicidal mission. Her sister will feel it as she dies, but the broken bond won't kill her. Probably. Soulbonds can be a tricky thing, but well-established ones of this kind, even when broken, rarely kill the surviving party. Rather, it usually feels like a part of the dead person lives on inside their mate's mind.

That's what his mo– _Frigga_ used to tell him, at least. Since Loki isn't bonded to anyone, he never got the opportunity for first-hand knowledge. Thor didn't show any sign of a bond either, at least until he met that Midgardian scientist.

Soulbonds are, indeed, a tricky thing. They can appear all of a sudden, and, if they're taken care of properly, grow into intricate and beautiful things, or they can be here since birth, merely waiting for the right person to complete them. They can also wither and die, in so many ways.

The third person with a soulbond in Loki's new-found entourage is Barton himself. His bond, however, is still incomplete – so much so that Loki can't even gather the identity of Barton's supposed mate. What he does find is a confused buzzing of admiration, respect, trust and attraction, barely held together by sparks of self-conscious, barely-blossoming love. It's clear that Barton has just recently become aware of the budding bond, at least on some level – what's missing is both the decision to make something out of it and the necessary presence of the other person.

Again, Loki can't help remembering what Frigga taught him: either Barton chooses to do something and complete the bond soon, or it will wilt and die of neglect, leaving behind the worst kind of soul-marring scar. The Queen of Asgard, Loki thinks, would probably consider nudging Barton in the right direction. Not that Loki would be able to do that, even if he wished to (which he doesn't, of course – one of the many reasons he isn't, has never been, Frigga's son). His knowledge and control over soulbonds will never be comparable to the Queen's. 

He has, however, a number of other talents he can put to use.

***

When Loki drives the scepter through Phil Coulson's heart, he feels something tear in Barton's mind.

_Oh. So it was you. A pity – this could have been so interesting._

He doesn't get much time to dwell over the broken soulbond – his own hold on Barton is shattered by Romanoff not much later, and then he's forced to retreat. Not that it matters. Earth's mightiest heroes are scattered and defeated, and Loki's very much convinced he's going to win, regardless of what Barton's designed mate had to say.

Not to mention that Barton will die soon.

If completed soulbonds rarely kill, incomplete ones are extremely dangerous when broken. Rather than an ugly scar, a wound will now open in Barton's psyche – deep enough to deprive him of his identity, turning him into someone else, far more than Loki's control could ever have done. Most people end up dying rather than face that kind of transformation – the instinctual response of the human race to the threat of losing themselves.

It's fascinating, really. Loki almost regrets that he can't be in Barton's mind to watch this unfold. He was barely there when Coulson died, his control already wavering due to the shock of the bond failing, and it was still so marvelously entertaining to witness.

No, Loki isn't there to feel how Clint's mind crumbles when Natasha tells him about Phil. _I knew_ , Clint can't stop repeating, _I knew_. Natasha holds him until he realizes that crying is useless.

Equally, Loki isn't there in Clint's mind when, nine days later, his bond suddenly does something it's very much not supposed to do – it flares back to life.

Clint is in the Tower's kitchen, listlessly stirring a cup of coffee, when it happens. He lets the mug fall to the floor, nearly startling Bruce into hulking out. In a heartbeat, Natasha is at his side.

“Clint. Tell me what's happening.”

“It's – oh, God, Nat. It's Phil.”

Loki isn't there to listen to Thor explain to the others how soulbonds work – how the thing that's happening in Clint's mind right now is both impossible and indisputable.

And, of course, Loki isn't there in the years that follow, and so he doesn't get to witness the growth of Phil and Clint's bond, the way it weaves itself in a solid pattern, interspersed with knots and tangles here and there ( _that first year when they were kept apart, TAHITI, Hydra, the carving, and everything that came after that_ ), but never broken or torn.

Years later, Loki's mind will touch Clint's again, just for a fleeting moment. It will be enough for Loki to see everything, and to think, _Mother would have loved this_.

**Author's Note:**

> I always forget to add this, but [you can find me on Tumblr](http://stepantrofimovic.tumblr.com/).


End file.
